di Leonard Berberi
Joerg Eberhart says the Lufthansa-backed carrier expects a small operating profit in 2026 and again in 2027, while planning 226 voluntary exits and about 400 hires
Ita Airways, Italy’s main airline, jointly run by the Economy Ministry and the Lufthansa Group, aims to close 2026 at an operating break-even, even slightly better than in 2025, despite geopolitical tensions and fuel costs that have more than doubled from a year earlier. While Lufthansa works on raising its stake to 90% and on Ita’s entry into the transatlantic joint venture, the carrier is preparing to expand in South America, with Caracas and, somewhat unexpectedly, Lima, partly to counter Emirates’ plans for Peru via Milan.
Clouds remain over the sector. At its Rome Fiumicino headquarters the company is seeking 226 voluntary exits while planning to hire 400 pilots and flight attendants as early as next year. “A number that could rise if part-time work is expanded,” Joerg Eberhart, Ita’s chief executive and general manager, said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. He stressed that this is a phase of “transformation of the company.”
In June you said Ita would close 2026 at break-even. Jet
